Addresses and Statements

FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST”
Addresses and Statements

FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST”

The term “communion” translates the Greek word κοινωνίᾳ koinonia and the Hebrew word חַבּוּרָה chavurah. Both indicated an association or cooperative, such as Jonah and Sons, and Zebedee and Sons, who were in partnership in the fishing business at Lake Galilee, until the boys ran away from home to join Jesus and fish instead for people. Already at the time of Jesus, as today, a chavurah or minyan of at least ten men was required to represent the community of Israel at a synagogue service, wedding or funeral…

“Religious Freedom in a Secular World: Doomed or Doable?”31 May 2024
Addresses and Statements

“Religious Freedom in a Secular World: Doomed or Doable?”31 May 2024

The year is 2035, hopefully my last as archbishop. I’ve just emailed my draft homily for Sunday to the Religious Safety Commissioner for her approval. She’s the independent regulator charged with ensuring that faith groups spread no discriminatory and otherwise harmful messages. With the help of AI, she vets all planned sermons and spiritual talks to be given in Australia each week, catching any inappropriate words or themes before they are spoken…

Iftar Dinner By St Mary’s Cathedral House, 14 March 2024
Addresses and Statements

Iftar Dinner By St Mary’s Cathedral House, 14 March 2024

ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْ  As-salamu alaykum, Peace up upon you. Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral House for our 14th annual Iftar dinner, honouring especially our Muslim leaders and people, but bringing together people of many faiths for feasting and friendship. My sincerest apologies for not being there is person: I have a light dose of Covid, and didn’t want to risk giving it to any of you, so we must meet through the ether…

Catechesis on ‘Social Friendship’World Youth Day 2023
Addresses and Statements

Catechesis on ‘Social Friendship’World Youth Day 2023

Many of our shared spaces are broken and we seem only able to see things through a hyper-tribal lens of progressive and conservative, us versus them. On hot-button topics there’s little room for civil exchange of views, reasoned arguments and openness to persuasion, nuance, compromise, or respectful disagreement; instead, we have slogans, vitriol…

Catechesis on ‘Integral Ecology’ for World Youth Day 2023
Addresses and Statements

Catechesis on ‘Integral Ecology’ for World Youth Day 2023

Lately there’s been plenty of talk about UFOs, aliens, and interstellar travel: a former US official has even claimed under oath that government is in possession of a non-human spacecraft with some intact alien biological material! I don’t pretend to know the rights and wrongs of all of this, but I wonder what an alien species would make of a million plus adolescent humans…

Michael Moore Farewell
Addresses and Statements

Michael Moore Farewell

My Lords Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, Richard Umbers and Danny Meagher, Reverend Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Friends all: Welcome to my place. It’s a delight to have you all here this evening, as we bid farewell to Michael Moore as Director of Finance of the Archdiocese of Sydney. I welcome him and Elizabeth (his long-suffering better half), their daughters Jacinta and Adriana with Thomas, and Michael’s sister Maria…

Iftar Dinner 2023
Addresses and Statements

Iftar Dinner 2023

Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral House for our 13th annual Iftar dinner, honouring especially our Muslim leaders and people, but bringing together people of all faiths for feasting and friendship.

Representing our First Australians, I welcome Dr Lisa Buxton who heads our Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. Together with her I acknowledge the elders past and present of the Gadigal clan of Eora nation, traditional custodians of the land on which we meet…

Blessing + Opening of Hartford College
Addresses and Statements

Blessing + Opening of Hartford College

I’m delighted to be with you all this morning for the blessing and opening of Hartford College! The foundation of a new school is always a cause for celebration and hope, and I want particularly to congratulate the founding parents who had the vision and courage to bring this school to reality. I salute Board Chair Tim Mitchell, Penny Wright and the other directors, Principal Mr Frank Monagle and the growing teaching staff…

DEATH OF HIS EMINENCE GEORGE CARDINAL PELL
Addresses and Statements

DEATH OF HIS EMINENCE GEORGE CARDINAL PELL

Today we have lost a Cardinal of the Church, a former Archbishop of Sydney, a fine priest, a good Christian soul.
The Church in Australia and around the world is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Cardinal George Pell, the former Archbishop of Sydney and of Melbourne.
Cardinal Pell’s episcopal motto was ‘Be Not Afraid’ and through good days and bad, he lived up to these words…

MEDITATION FOR CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2022
Addresses and Statements

MEDITATION FOR CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2022

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet.”[1] So asks the heroine in Shakespeare’s romance-tragedy. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet could be Jack and Jill Smith for all she cared, as long as they were the same people, and they should resist the attempts of families and culture to pigeonhole them. Yet as romantic and postmodern as this might sound, it raises all sorts of metaphysical…

BENEDICT XVI – A POPE WHO GAVE HIS HEART AND MIND TO CHRIST
Addresses and Statements

BENEDICT XVI – A POPE WHO GAVE HIS HEART AND MIND TO CHRIST

United with Pope Francis and Christians throughout the world, the Church in Sydney and Australia mourns the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, one of the greatest theologian-popes in the Church’s two-thousand-year history.

For more than 70 years, as priest-theologian, bishop-pastor, cardinal-prefect, teacher-pope and finally pope-emeritus, Joseph Ratzinger selflessly…

2022 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE – The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP
Addresses and Statements

2022 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE – The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP

After a year of terrible war in Ukraine and disastrous floods closer to home, in which people have lost loved ones, homes, livelihoods, where are they to find security and hope? Amidst fragile recovery from pandemic and rising cost of living, how do we deal with anxiety and uncertainty?
At Christmas, God comes to us as a newborn baby, the most vulnerable…

OPENING OF CHRISTMAS AT THE CATHEDRAL
Addresses and Statements

OPENING OF CHRISTMAS AT THE CATHEDRAL

Welcome to our Christmas at the Cathedral celebration at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. I acknowledge our hosts St Mary’s Cathedral and the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. I thank our sponsors, especially Paynter Dixon, the NSW Government, and CommBank; our collaborators Electric Canvas and Epic Team; our media partner Channel 7; and those providing music, entertainment or prayer here in the cathedral forecourt…

ADDRESS AT CONFERRAL OF PAPAL AWARDS
Addresses and Statements

ADDRESS AT CONFERRAL OF PAPAL AWARDS

In the liturgical calendar, today is the memorial of the dedication of two churches: the Basilicas of St Peter in the Vatican and of St Paul also outside the Aurelian walls. Why, we might wonder, do we have another feast of Peter and Paul in a calendar already overloaded with the feasts of the Conversion of St Paul on 25 January, the Chair of St Peter on 22 February, and St Peter and Paul on 29 June? It is understandable that Peter…

Visitor’s Address at the Annual Archbishop’s Dinner
Addresses and Statements

Visitor’s Address at the Annual Archbishop’s Dinner

Thank you, Ms Hastings. It’s a pleasure to be back with you for this feast, both liturgical and culinary!

This week our nation, the Commonwealth of nations, and the world beyond are mourning the greatest woman leader of modern times. Whatever our views of monarchy and democracy, of the past or present role of Britain and its children in the world, of colonisation …

Catholic Women’s Network Launch
Addresses and Statements

Catholic Women’s Network Launch

Welcome to my place for tonight’s official launch of the Catholic Women’s Network, a ministry to acknowledge all that Catholic women bring to our Church and city, and connect and support them better. I welcome distinguished guests, friends and colleagues.

This initiative would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of its faith-filled organisers. Here I want especially to recognise …

A MONARCH WHO UNITED US ALL
Addresses and Statements

A MONARCH WHO UNITED US ALL

All Australians are united in sorrow as we mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Catholic community pauses to remember a wonderful Christian woman.
While Her Majesty was not born to rule, posterity will record her reign as a benchmark against which leaders will be judged for generations to come.
Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered as a model of public service …

10:10 PROJECT CONFERENCE “LIFE TO THE FULL”
Addresses and Statements

10:10 PROJECT CONFERENCE “LIFE TO THE FULL”

I’m delighted to see so many faithful and joyful young people here today! Many say religious beliefs and values are out of favour with young people, that they’ve given up on God, and that while some are willing to volunteer for a bit for a good cause, they’ve largely moved on from those more idealistic days. Young people, the pundits claim, are more interested in getting ahead, having a series of short-term relationships …

Short Address + Blessing of Dr Kevin Fagan Memorial
Addresses and Statements

Short Address + Blessing of Dr Kevin Fagan Memorial

“What is the good life?” Philosophers have offered their wisdom on the matter since time immemorial. Socrates thought it was about the quest for wisdom, Epicurus the pursuit of rather baser pleasures, Aristotle the cultivation of virtue, the Stoics a life in accord with nature. For the children of the Enlightenment, it was faithfulness to reason and freedom. Kant thought it was about fulfilment of duty …

“My Parish: A Centre of Evangelisation” Parish Renewal Conference
Addresses and Statements

“My Parish: A Centre of Evangelisation” Parish Renewal Conference

Welcome to my place! I’m delighted to see so many here for what will be, God willing, two days of inspiring reflection upon Parish Renewal. I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the Parish Renewal Team and the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, for providing this opportunity to the Church in Sydney and beyond. The Archdiocese is blessed to have so many sharing their gifts …

World Youth Day 2008 Plaque Unveiling
Addresses and Statements

World Youth Day 2008 Plaque Unveiling

Papal arrivals are big occasions. We’ve had four in Australian history, but by far the most dramatic was the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI on the Sydney 2000, rebadged Das Papstesboot, on 17 July 2008. Accompanied by Cardinals Bertone, Rylko and Pell, and the bishops of Australia, as well as excited young people from every continent and nation, the Holy Father was escorted by thousands …

SCY Fidelis talk on “THE CREED”
Addresses and Statements

SCY Fidelis talk on “THE CREED”

Pope St John Paul II wrote that God has placed in our hearts a desire to know the truth, and that faith and reason are the two wings by which we reach it in contemplation.[1] In the 2012 superhero film, The Avengers, Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) says “These guys come from legend, Captain. They’re basically gods.” To which Captain America (played by Chris Evans) responds, “There’s only one God ma’am, and I’m pretty sure …

ADDRESS TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE IFTAR DINNER
Addresses and Statements

ADDRESS TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE IFTAR DINNER

I welcome you all to Cathedral House this evening to celebrate our twelfth annual Iftar dinner. Can I say how pleasing it is for us all to be together, as representatives of our respective faiths, for a night of food, faith and friendship. I salute Dr Lisa Buxton, representing First Australians and directing our Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. With her I acknowledge the elders past and present of the Cadigal clan of the Eora nation …

IFTAR DINNER 2021
Addresses and Statements

IFTAR DINNER 2021

Welcome to the eleventh Iftar ‘breakfast’ hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. It is with great joy that I’m able to welcome you all back to my place tonight, after a year of forced separation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were especially conscious of the hardship the COVID-safety restrictions imposed upon our Muslim brothers and sisters during last year’s Ramadan.

PAPAL AWARDS 2021
Addresses and Statements

PAPAL AWARDS 2021

‘Take me for your model, as I take Christ.’ These words of St Paul give us a template for the Christian life (1Cor 10:31-11:1). St Paul stands as a reflection of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the love of God, and of the communion of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2Cor 13:3), pointing our gaze towards the source of that grace, love and fellowship.

Introduction to Commissioning Ceremony for Sydney Delegates to the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia
Addresses and Statements

Introduction to Commissioning Ceremony for Sydney Delegates to the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia

Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral as we commission the Sydney-based delegates to the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia. The previous four such councils – in 1885, 1895, 1905 and 1937 – were all held here in Sydney with this cathedral as their focal point, as will be the case for the final session of the 2021-22 council. Last time the aged and long-serving Archbishop Michael Kelly of Sydney presided.

RELIGION AND MENTAL HEALTH
Addresses and Statements

RELIGION AND MENTAL HEALTH

One in five Australians suffers some form of psychological illness in any particular year, and nearly half do so at some stage in their life. It affects all age groups, sexes, ethnicities, beliefs, professions. The figures are staggering, and mean a lot of people are hurting out there, many of them silently, without professional help

FERVERINO FOR CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2019
Addresses and Statements

FERVERINO FOR CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2019

How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.- Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene I. So says Portia, the beautiful heiress of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. She speaks a great truth: good deeds – and the intentions and agents behind them – don’t just get done and then fade away.

RELIGION AND MENTAL HEALTH
Addresses and Statements

RELIGION AND MENTAL HEALTH

In the past few weeks mental health has emerged as a key challenge for modern-day cricketers, with their gruelling schedules, intense public scrutiny, performance anxiety, burnout or loss of love for the game, effects on family life, and the baseline stress of contemporary life all weighing heavily.[1] Glenn Maxwell, one of the world’s best short-format players, announced he was taking time away, and Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson followed suit, just before the first Test against Pakistan.

ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY
Addresses and Statements

ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY

“There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there.”[1] So advised the bishop who sent Fr Jean-Baptiste Vianney to Ars, a remote and neglected village of only 230 people. Visit every family in their home, the bishop advised, and do your best to give regular

Easter Message 2019
Addresses and Statements

Easter Message 2019

The high points of my day are my Mass, Divine Office and Rosary, when I spend time with Our Lord, opening my heart and mind to Him, listening, asking, thanking, adoring. This relationship with God is, I hope, the foundation of my every word and deed.

BLESSING & INVITATION
Addresses and Statements

BLESSING & INVITATION

Wow young Australia! What an awesome Aussie gathering this has been to introduce our World Youth Day week! We come together this week, young people with their lay leaders, pastors, and pope as a living-breathing, singing-dancing, praying-acting proof that the Catholic Church is alive and well.

Book Launch for Educating in Christ by Gerard O’Shea
Addresses and Statements

Book Launch for Educating in Christ by Gerard O’Shea

When I was a young ‘seminarian’ and then priest in Melbourne Gerard was a rising star in the educational scene. When I was director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family he was one of the first students, eventually ‘doctored’ and one of the lecturers there. When I came back home to Sydney and got involved with UNDA, he was soon contributing here too, now as Associate Professor …

Book Launch for Educating in Christ by Gerard O’Shea
Addresses and Statements

Book Launch for Educating in Christ by Gerard O’Shea

When I was a young ‘seminarian’ and then priest in Melbourne Gerard was a rising star in the educational scene. When I was director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family he was one of the first students, eventually ‘doctored’ and one of the lecturers there. When I came back home to Sydney and got involved with UNDA, he was soon contributing here too, now as Associate Professor …

FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST” St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney
Addresses and Statements

FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST” St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney

Thank you all for joining us on this annual Walk With Christ procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi, especially in the 200th anniversary year of the Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament here in Sydney. I acknowledge today the presence of the auxiliary bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful who helped organise or assisted in today’s procession.

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